Pet Trends: Pet Hair Taking Over? Don’t Hate; FURminate

Every dog owner knows canines love to mark their territory. No, I’m not talking about a lifted leg on a fire hydrant, but a much bigger problem for pet owners on a daily basis, especially those with allergies. We’re talking about the shedding.

Even with all kinds of hypoallergenic hybrid breeds popping up, many of our pups still seem to trail loose hair wherever they roam. This inevitably ends up on clothes, furniture, and engrained into carpet. No matter how many lint roller sheets I go through, nothing seems eliminate the amount of yellow dog hair that seems to magnetically attach itself onto my person throughout the day. It is really the worst thing about owning a Labrador.

While there is no real solution to this conundrum, FURminator deShedding Tools sure make a difference in preventative measures. Sold in both cat and dog sizes for short and long hair breeds, the deShedding Edge has a similar effect to a hairbrush, except that it removes loose hair and the undercoat without actually cutting any hair- or irritating your dog’s skin. The tool was designed by a veteran pet groomer, and is used by veterinarians and groomers across the country to get rid of pesky shedding.

FURminator claims the tool reduces the amount of loose hair by 90%, but this seems like a lofty number for something that is so difficult to measure in a pet’s home. Before bringing one home to try on your own beloved mammal, make sure you actually need a FURminator; certain lesser-shedding breeds without an undercoat won’t benefit from use.